Glen Scotia 22 Years Old 1991 Cask #HL 13609 (Old Malt Cask)

This Glen Scotia was bottled by the Glasgow bottler Hunter Laing, a 22 year old, distilled in 1991, from cask HL 13609, bottled at 57.4%, one of 230 bottles. Glen Scotia is a salty, oily Campbeltown malt from the west coast of Scotland. Campbeltown, the Wee Toon, once held some thirty distilleries and was the whisky capital of the world.

It was made on Crosshill Loch water in the heart of Campbeltown, building the Campbeltown Glen Scotia style. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending vanilla and a little coconut. At this evaporative stage ellagitannins lend a drying structure while oxidation builds a richer, briny fruit. Maturation in the Campbeltown warehouses, by the sea, lends a coastal edge. The cool, salt laden Campbeltown air gives a slow, coastal maturation in the warehouses. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit.

Bottled at a cask strength 57.4%, it is rich. Sea salt, citrus and a salted toffee, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked apple and a sea salt lift it. Citrus, salt and a soft oak see out the finish. This is an oily, coastal malt from the Kintyre coast.